Westchester-Rockland

Junior Science and Humanities Symposium

Call for Papers

  • November 1Postmark deadline: School Application and Fee, Electronic Copy of School Application
  • November 26 Postmark deadline: 1package per school including required forms and materials for each participant
  • Late December Students and teachers notified of speakers,posters
  • February8, 2014 Symposium (snow date Feb. 9th)

WR-JSHS Timeline

November 1postmark deadline—School Application and fee

November 26 postmark deadline—papers and student applications

Late December—speakers, competitive poster, and display posters notified (before December 20)

February 8,2014—WR-JSHS event at John Jay High School

Guidelines for Submitting to WR-JSHS

School Application and Fee November 1 deadline:

Teachers submit school registration formby email and a paper copy with the $25.00 fee for each student participant and fees postmarked by November 1. The forms were attached to the email and will be available online soon at .

  1. Only seniors may enter as a speaker, all other may enter as a competitive poster presenter, or a display poster presenter. The teacher should indicate the appropriate choice on the school application.
  2. The student should carefully choose his or her category and mark it on the school application form. The choice of category should be the same on the school application and on the student application which is submitted later.
  3. Abstracts and student applications are not required at this time.
  4. Submit one school application form electronically by November 1
  5. Send one print copy of school application along with the fee to :

Ann Marie Lipinsky

JohnJayHigh School

60 North Salem Road

Cross River, NY 10518

SpeakersandCompetitive PosterPresentersmust have original datato present. Students in these categories must have completed an original piece of research including data collection, analysis and conclusion. Presenting the mentors data will result in disqualification.

If a student does not have data and analysis, he or she may enter as a display poster.

No Original Data=Display Poster

For the November 26thPaper deadline: Incomplete applications will NOT be considered! All certifications must be included with the paper!

Teachers send in completed student application with all required materials (see below) by the postmark deadlineNovember 26to Ann Marie Lipinsky.

Requirements for Speaker Presenters:

  • One completed student application (category must match school application category)
  • 6 abstracts in the correct JSHS format, separate from the abstract on the student application.
  • One copy of the paper, formatted for JSHS and including student, scientist and teacher certifications, bound with a staple.
  • Please keep a photocopy of the certifications—students selected as speakers will need to bring just 1 copy of the paper with the certifications on the day of the competition.
  • Bind these items together and in order (student application, 6 separate abstracts, paper) with a large paperclip or metal clasp.
  • Here is the link to info about paper format and submission:

Incomplete or improperly formatted papers will not be considered and will result in a disqualification from the speaker category!

Competitive Poster Presenters

  • One completed student application
  • One copy of the paper, formatted for JSHS. Certifications are NOT required for competitive poster.

Display Poster Presenters

  • One completed student application, including an abstract.

Speaker Selection in Early-Mid December

Papers are evaluatedby thecommittee in early December.

  1. Projects are evaluated for
  2. completeness
  3. teacher certification/recommendation/evaluation (STS teacher form is acceptable)
  4. mentor certification/recommendation/evaluation (STS scientist form is acceptable)
  5. significance of research
  6. quality and quantity of data
  7. presentation of data
  8. overall quality of the research report
  1. There are a limited number of spots available due to
  2. restrictions from Albany on number of students we can send to the state competition
  3. the number of presentations that can physically be judged in one day.
  4. The exact number of rooms is determined the number of students applying in each category.
  5. Please know that the committee spends many hours making a fair and balanced schedule that will give as many students as possible the chance to compete and move forward.

Speakers Notified

Speaker Presenters will be notifiedin late December. Speakers will present a twelve (12) minute power point presentation. Speakers must bring 1 copy of the paper, formatted in JSHS format including student, scientist and teacher certification to the competition. Papers may be submitted with 2-sided printing and a staple (no more crazy plastic covers!).This is a change from past years. The student/teacher of the student will give this paper to the Moderator in his or her room at the start of the competition.

Students arriving on the day of the competition without a paper or power-point presentation will be disqualified. The power-point should be on a flash drive so it can be loaded onto the computer in the presentation room.

If a student is not selected to be a speaker, he or she is automatically put into the competitive poster category. Poster presenters present a poster. If a student chooses to withdraw from the poster competition, please contact Janet Longo-Abinanti at .

February 8, 2014Day of Competition

Students competing as speakers who place 1st or 2nd in a room qualify to compete as speakers in Albany, and have a chance to move on to the National JSHS Competition.

Students competing as speakers who place 3rd or 4thin a room qualify to compete as Poster Presenters in Albany and a chance to win fabulous prizes.

Students who competed as Competitive Posters at WR-JSHS do not move on to Albany, but there are prizes for the students.

Display Posters are not competing, but have the chance to display posters and discuss the research. There is an award fort he most promising display poster project. The process for selection is undergoing revision to avoid a repeat of stuffing the ballot box.

If you have questions or need help with the process, please contact Ann Marie Lipinsky at or (914)763-7200 x 9239.